Safer than riding a bike? Scientists promote medicinal use of psychedelic drugs

The therapeutic or experimental use of psychedelic drugs is safer than taking legal substances such as nicotine or alcohol, two leading members of a drug research organization have said.

The two Norwegian
scientists penned a letter in the Lancet journal claiming the ban
on drugs like MDMA (ecstasy) and magic mushrooms are
“inconsistent with human rights.” They add that there is
“not much evidence of health problems” associated with
the hallucinogens.

Tony Krebs and her husband, Pål-Ørjan Johansen, who founded
EmmaSofia, a group looking to expand the controlled use of MDMA,
wrote that some psychedelic drugs could be used to effectively
wean addicts off other damaging substances.

“Based on extensive human experience, it is generally
acknowledged that psychedelics do not elicit addiction or
compulsive use and that there is little evidence for an
association between psychedelic use and birth defects, chromosome
damage, lasting mental illness, or toxic effects to the brain or
other organs,” they wrote.

They added that although psychedelics can cause temporary
confusion and emotional anxiety, “hospitalizations and
serious injuries are extremely rare. Overall psychedelics are not
particularly dangerous when compared with other common
activities.”

“National and international policies should respect the human
rights of individuals who choose to use psychedelics as a
spiritual, personal development, or cultural activity.”

Johansen, who worked to provide treatments for anxiety disorders,
even claimed that taking psychedelic drugs was as safe as riding
a bike.

“Psychedelics often produce profound experiences while at the
same time having a safety risk profile comparable to many
activities of daily life, such as riding a bike or playing
soccer.”

He claims he was able to treat his own alcohol addiction through
the medicinal use of MDMA. In an interview with Newsweek he said
he believed the drug could also be useful in the treatment of
heroin addiction.

“The commonality is that addiction and drug abuse have a
function which is to escape from stress and difficult emotions
like shame, loneliness, fear, guilt or shyness,” he said.

“Recently our colleague, Matthew Johnson, completed a pilot
study which with psilocybin for smoking cessation, also with
encouraging results.”

The couple set up EmmaSofia to promote access to therapeutic MDMA
and continue to campaign for the human rights of people using
psychedelic drugs.

Their crowdfunding appeal raised $30,000 for their campaign to
legalize such drugs. They believe certain psychedelics could be
used not only to treat people battling addictions, but other
medical conditions like Parkinson’s disease.

EmmaSofia’s campaign has found support among a number of
academics, including Professor David Nutt, a former drugs adviser
to the UK government.

However, a spokesperson for Public Health England told Newsweek
it was unethical to treat addiction to illegal substances with
other illegal substances, adding such a program would not have
support in the UK.